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Do you have some extra time this summer and you want to spend it on doing something nice for your living room? We suggest re-modelling the bookshelves and maybe keeping only the books you would recommend in your library.

Cleaning the bookshelves can give you the sensation that you have been using your entire holiday time smartly.

First step would be to choose from your library the books you would never recommend to somebody else. Pile them up and take them to the closest books re-seller or antiquarian. You could end up with some extra money.

Use the extra money to buy a new bookshelf or maybe try to build one yourself. Here is a great video on how to build an original bookshelf in your living room or open space.

How close are you to the point of reaching that much dreamed moment of buying your own place? If you’re already at the point of searching for a property, it’s time to wake up!

Source: Wikipedia, labeled for reuse

Deciding that you need a home of your own and getting to the point of eventually searching for the right place for you can be quite a long road to walk. You know exactly how your house looks in your dreams, but finding it on the market is a real challenge.

Not necessarily wanting to shatter your dreams, here are some advice you might want to follow when searching for a property.

Stay on the budget. Assuming you already know your limits – how much a financial institution or the bank of ‘Mum and Dad’ can offer you, it is very important to not cross these limits in any way. The temptation is huge when you see those pictures of the perfect house just a little above your price range, but the extra cost will just lead to new extra costs. Remember that it can be just as frustrating to live in an empty house because you might not be able to buy any furniture for it.

Keep it real. Make a plan of exactly what your needs are. You might want to ask yourself from time to time:

Do I really need that enormous kitchen?

Is an extra bedroom going to be of any other use that to deposit things in it?

Will I really use the two bathrooms in this apartment?

Location, location, location. You might search for places around your working place or near your friends. Keep in mind that jobs change and people move so pick a place that has good connections and nice surroundings. Because that is exactly what you are going to be using/ seeing every day.

“Your home is your castle” or “Your castle is your home”? In some very fortunate cases, the later is also true for real castles and their inhabitants.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle Labeled for reuse.

All across Europe, castles have been built as a sign of fortune and fame. Queens, kings and their children – princes and princesses, lived once in the most fortified and beautiful buildings in their land.

In those times, only royalty could live the fairy-tale of having a home that included: a dance hall, at least one dining room with an enormous table, bedrooms for themselves and the servants, more than one bathroom, a library, dressing rooms, and stables. Well, this is the kind of house you want to play hide-and-seek in as a child.

These type of properties usually have prices that exceed 2,000,000 GBP. Just like in the case of a normal property, the price depends on the number of bedrooms. An indoor garden the size of a park or a football field rises the value of the property, just like a big balcony might raise the value of an apartment.

If you are one of the potential buyers of a castle, to get a clear picture of what your life will be like, please read this article. It will give you a sense of the burdens, not only the advantages of living in a castle. Like the “agonizing five (5) minute walk to the home from the car” or the “We forgot the butter” problem.

Researchers found that journeys over half an hour were damaging for the mental health.

Commuters with a one hour journey in either direction fare the worse.

33% more likely to suffer depression in a pole of 34,000 adults.

These facts and figures are frightening, especially as most of us endure commuting day-in day-out, year-in year-out. Either by train, bus or behind the wheel of a car… This journey has to be endured.

A study of more than 34,000 working British adults found journeys upwards of half-an-hour are damaging the nations health and productivity.

People most at risk of depression are those who have the longest commute times: more than an an hour in each direction. They were 33% more likely to suffer from depression and 12 % more likely to report work-related stress.

Results following the research showed that they have a 46% greater risk of getting less than seven hours sleep each per night, as recommended.

This is a real eye opener and something to seriously think about if you are thinking of relocating to the country and intend to commute each day.

If you’re one of those countryside folks trapped inside an apartment for living purposes only, we have an idea on how to ‘cultivate’ your farmer side. Create a garden on your balcony and start growing your favourite plants this summer.

Balcony gardening became a trend a couple of years ago. It started as a hobby for some, but it was rapidly adopted by those who wanted more control over what they put on the table.

You can also grow small vegetables – actually any kind of vegetable if you do not want to mass-product it. Some suggestions are: cherry tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, green onions, radishes, beans, carrots

What do you need to create the garden on the balcony?

Enough light, to start with. It’s not merely as precious as space, since space can be maximized by rational use.

Pots of all types and sizes. Containers and a good soil create a good basis for your garden apartment.

Don’t forget the seeds. Choose plants that grow fast enough. It can be a bit frustrating just looking at an empty pot for a couple of days, but keep in mind that the seed what planted! It takes time and water to grow.

Being a first-time buyer usually means forking out rent, saving for a deposit and playing catch-up with ever-rising house prices all at the same time!

London is the ideal place to buy a house or an apartment for me. It is a great place to live in, but it can be expensive if you are a first time buyer.

Not only are properties expensive to buy (average price in the borough of Redbridge is £446,581) but I will also need at least 20% deposit + stamp duty costs + legal fees on top of that.

Based on my salary, it would be impossible to apply for a mortgage based on the average property prices in London. My own research shows that there are two solutions for purchasing a property.

– Buy a property out of London as it is a lot cheaper, therefore, affordable for me.

– ‘Help to Buy Scheme’

The scheme requires a minimum 5% deposit of the property value with the Government offering an interest-free loan of a further 20%. The remaining 75% is covered by a standard mortgage.

As an example, if you want to buy a £200,000 property under the Equity Loan scheme, you would need a minimum deposit of £10,000 and to qualify for a £150,000 mortgage. The Government then provides an equity loan of £40,000.

Another option would be to buy jointly, either with friends or family. I think this is my preferred option, so far. 🙂

Are you the owner of a city apartment? The closer to the city center, the better…

However, there might be some disadvantages to your property. For example, the rooms might not be as spacious as you want them to be or you might be missing some outdoor space (a garden or a full-view balcony).

You might have a balcony to your apartment, but it is so tiny you can not actually do anything in it.

Well, redecorating is a solution to make everything look and feel better. So let’s start with the balcony and turn it from simply “small” to “small, but comfortable“, or “small, but good looking”. Or, why not, “small, but very practical“!

First step to re-creating your balcony is to empty it and assess all the space you have.

Then, pick a purpose! What do you want it to be? A place for reading, a breakfast area for lazy weekend mornings or just a pretty place where guests can stand and admire the view?

Defining the purpose of the balcony is going to give you an idea of what type of furniture you need. A small coffee table or just chairs? Or, even better, rocking chairs! Plants can be placed in hangers and just placed on the wall. Also, shelves should be quite useful and do not use any space. And you do not think of necessarily buying the items you need. You can actually do some pieces of furniture by yourself by recycling some old things.

To personalize the space even more, light up your balcony! Pick a lighting solution that enhances the space and is practical. LED lights should be what you need, just use them creatively.

The first noted beach hut goes back to Australia as early as 1862. The bathing boxes are thought to have been constructed to protect the Victorian’s morality during a time of both male and females covering their bodies, even while on the beach. Just after this time, beach huts were seen in England, France and Italy.

Up until 2003, The Queen had a beach hut in Norfolk. The royal family had this for 70 years. The artist Tracey Emin recently sold her beach hut in Whitstable for £75,000 to Charles Saatchi.

Typically, a beach hut is a brightly coloured small wooden construction placed on/ near the beach. On the inside they are simply furnished, with a small fridge freezer and a sofa.

They are generally used to shelter from the sun or wind, or to change into and out of a swimming costume. Some beach huts have been modified with either a gas or electricity supply.

Today, depending on the location of the beach hut, it could set you back as much as £30,000, with Brighton being in “Top 10 Beach Hut Locations”. This is still cheaper than a caravan, and without the dreaded site fee’s.

If you live in a big city and just need to unwind for a day, this could be a good solution for a get-away. The biggest decision will probably be ‘What colour should I paint it?’.